In one of the biggest auctions of mobile spectrum the government has fetched a whopping sum of `94,000 crore at the end of the fifth day of the sale process, on March 9. Industry watchers say that if the robust bidding continues the government may touch the `1 lakh crore figure. This is certainly good news for the health of the exchequer. And the telecom industry can pat itself on the back for
`No toilet in school, UP girl out to relieve herself gangraped by seniors,` read a newspaper headline on March 30. The class V girl student was allegedly raped by two seniors from her school, when she went out to relieve herself in a field outside her school. This government school in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh has no toilets. This state of affairs prevails despite
Krishan Pal, union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, represents Faridabad in the Lok Sabha. In an interview with Sweta Ranjan, he speaks about development plans for the bustling city that is part of the national capital region (NCR). Edited excerpts: Faridabad has a tremendous potential for development. As MP, what are your p
India needs to develop its own comprehensive policy and regulatory framework for drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) not only for operational clarity but also for developing a manufacturing base for an indigenous drone industry. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are basically pre-programmed aircrafts that are controlled from the ground. Currently India operates more th
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act as being unconstitutional and violative of Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(2) of the Constitution of India. The now defunct Section.66A of the IT Act, read as follows: “Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc.66A. Any pers
Finance minister Arun Jaitley has set a disinvestment target of `69,500 crore for 2015-16. Disinvestment secretary Aradhana Johri, the 1980-batch IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, calls it an ambitious target. The disinvestment revenue in 2014-15 has been the highest so far, but Johri is confident of meeting the even higher target for the coming fiscal. In an interview with Jasleen
Computer literacy is often linked to the knowledge of English. With the launch of the e-bhasha project, the government is hoping to make the internet more accessible. The project aims at providing computing tools in Indian languages, thus making government services available to a substantial part of India. These tools were developed more than a decade ago, but sadly remained non-utilised. Howev
In itself a piece of data is discrete and inert. So a number remains just that, an isolated strand. But string numbers together and it has enough potential to become intelligent, almost like the way potential energy turns into explosive kinetic energy. Inert data suddenly transforms into information the moment you give it a context. Give it a perspective and it becomes knowledge. There ar
Attracted by the promise of new technology, countries (over 150 of whom maintain civil registration systems) and development partners alike have invested heavily in identification systems, in terms of both development dollars and strategy, reveals a report by the World Bank. Much of the current discourse on identification- and registry- related issues is framed from a state-centered perspective
Giving concrete shape to finance minister Arun Jaitley`s announcement of a bill to trace black money, the union cabinet has just approved a law to track unaccounted wealth by strengthening of the prosecution mechanism and enhancing exchange of information, also including in its ambit stringent provisions for prosecution of offences. The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imp
The Lok Sabha has passed the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015. After the upper house nod, it will replace the ordinance that has paved the way for auctioning of coal blocks, which were put on hold due to the supreme court order creating a lot of uncertainty in the sector. Anil Swarup, secretary at the coal ministry, in an interaction with Shubhendu Parth and
The Delhi Master Plan 2021 has now become meaningless. The spate of recent notifications changing regulations relating to setbacks, ground coverage, FAR, height controls, etc, have resulted in fragmented and unrelated development across the city. Most of these changes have been made to meet the steadily increasing pressure for more intensive development, without a holistic review of their urban
Arguably the most cosmopolitan state, Goa is in the midst of a row over the Gandhi Jayanti holiday. Chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar is crying foul after the Congress raked up his government’s gazette notification which does not include it among the holidays. There is also an allegation that Goa’s mainstay casino industry wanted October 2 to be taken off from the state’s holi
Pradeep Kumar Jena, a 1989 batch IAS officer, is principal secretary of water resources department, Odisha. Until December 2014 he also held the charge of the information technology department. In an interaction with Pratap Vikram Singh in December, Jena talked about the steps to promote electronics manufacturing and strengthen e-governance in Odis
A German professor raises concern and the idea of statecraft and diplomacy gets a jolt. When Professor Annette Beck-Sickinger of Germany gave reasons for rejecting an Indian male student’s application for internship, it sent shock waves through the German diplomacy. Germany’s India ambassador Michael Steiner came out and condemned her action and the professor had to apologise.
‘Mission Hazaar’ aims at taking the gender ratio to 1,000 girls for every 1,000 boys. At present, there are only 914 girls for every 1,000 boys in India, but it is much lower in states like Haryana. As part of the campaign, a survey was conducted among young people from schools and colleges in four districts of Haryana by an international human rights organisation, Breakthrough,
Free speech has always been a subject of immense debate. Different legal regimes in different parts of the world have sought to regulate free speech on various grounds. In India, the constitution guarantees the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. However, this right under Article 19(1) of the constitution is not an absolute right. The state can impose various ‘reasonabl
The growth story of our country has remained a mixed baggage. There has been tremendous advancement in many sectors but there are also areas of huge concern. It was generally believed that liberalisation and globalisation would unshackle the economy and accelerate growth. As the national income would rise, all sections of society would get a share in the rising wealth, through a trickledown eff
Kashinath Singh, a distinguished scholar and writer, is regarded as one of the best chroniclers of the city of Varanasi. Only a few people know the city as well as he does. Born in a village 40 km from the city, he came to Varanasi for his higher secondary education. Since then he has lived in the city – initially as a student at the Banaras Hindu University, which is also where
It has now become the subject of a parliament debate. The home minister has even ensured a restraining order via the courts and it is clear India will not get to see the documentary on the atrocities against her daughters. Film-maker Leslee Udwin`s work India`s Daughter is to be aired across several nations on March 8, the International Women`s Day. Except in India. The governmen
